


Worth The Date

by WorthItBoys



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series), Buzzfeed: Worth It
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-02
Updated: 2018-01-04
Packaged: 2019-01-28 10:07:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12604200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WorthItBoys/pseuds/WorthItBoys
Summary: Adam is taking the one and only Ryan Bergara on a date, and if Andrew and Shane happen to be jealous? Well, it was their own faults for not going up and asking before it was too late. Or is it really too late?





	1. Beginning the Day

The day was bright outside, with the sun shining high and not a cloud in sight. A very common sight in the California summer, so Adam wasn’t too surprised as it stayed clear throughout the entire day.

He did, however, wish that the weather reflected his mood a little more, instead of opposing it in every single way possible.

“Oh! Well aren’t you looking fancy today, Mr. Bianchi,” Steven teased, walking and patting Adam’s new collared shirt that he had just bought for today. Adam gave a tight smile and took a step back, as Steven was a little too close for comfort.

“So do you have a date or something?” Steven continued, now circling Adam to judge him on his style. Adam stood still in discomfort while Steven circled him, until Andrew came to his rescue, looking as though he was going to stop Steven.

“What’s this I hear about Adam having a date?” Andrew asked, also looking at Adam’s new outfit.

Adam let out a sigh, of course, Andrew would come to torment him as well. He could only dream of them leaving him alone for once in his life.

“Our young boy is growing up, Andrew! Look at him, all fancy with his new shirt!” Steven exclaimed, latching onto Andrew’s arm to add some dramatic flair to his over the top performance. Adam watched as Andrew began to pry his arm from Steven’s grip.

“Oh really? Is it time we give him the talk then?” Andrew said, going along with Steven’s bit, all while still trying to free his arm.

“Hmm, I’m not sure- if he really at the right age for-”

Adam wished someone would come and kill him right now. Or just kill Steven, to free him from his suffering.

“Hey, Adam! Are you ready for our date later today?”

Adam glanced up, seeing that Ryan Bergara had come to his rescue.

“Yeah, all good to go. I have the reservation booked and everything,” Adam said, smiling softly at Ryan. Adam watched as Ryan smiled back at him brightly, before beginning to walk to his desk.

“Great! I can’t wait for tonight!” Ryan called back, as he continued his way to his desk. Adam smiled in Ryan’s direction before turning back around to see the shocked faces of Steven and Andrew.

Steven’s jaw was wide with shock, while Andrew looked surprised, along with a hint of something else that Adam couldn’t quite make out. Adam also noticed that behind them was Shane, who seemed to be glaring at him. Adam smiled sheepishly at them before going to sit down at his own desk. He then began to count down how long it took before someone finally said something. One thousand, two one thousand, three…

“You’re going on a date with Ryan Bergara? Shane is going to kill you, Adam!” hissed Steven, with disbelief in his eyes.

Adam hummed nonchalantly. It only took one minute for Steven to snap out of it. Much faster than he had expected him to. However, he did notice that Andrew still seemed frozen in place, staring at him with… despair?

“Don’t just hum! Adam, do you have a deathwish?” Steven said, grabbing onto Adam’s shoulders to shake him back and forth while speaking.

At this point Andrew seemed to straighten himself up, Adam noted.

“Just leave him alone, Steven. Let him be happy with his date if Shane kills him then he only has himself to blame,” Andrew said, his voice having a slight spit to it.

Adam winced slightly, he hadn’t expected Andrew to have such a harsh reaction. He watched as Steven turned around in surprise, clearly not expecting Andrew’s reaction either.

“Woah, chill, Andrew! What got you so upset? Adam just got a date with Ryan, sure he will probably die by the wrath of a jealous Shane Madej but that doesn’t mean you need to sound so harsh about it,” said Steven, letting go of Adam to gently pat Andrew on the shoulder.

“I- ugh, sorry. Just, it came out weirdly. I’m going to get some coffee, Steven come with me,” Andrew said, grabbing onto Steven's arm and pulling him away from Adam.

“Oh, okay we’re doing this now I guess, see you in a bit, Adam! Don’t die!” Steven yelled, before being dragged out the offices by Andrew.

Adam stared at the door quizzically, not sure what to think about what just happened before shrugging and turning back to his desktop. Before he actually starting his work he grabbed his phone and shot off two quick texts. Then he prepared to chug on with the rest of his day.

* * *

 

Cameradam: Operation get our boys jealous has officially launched

Cameradam: At least it seems that way


	2. The Plan: Act 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam begins the plan and taunts Shane, hoping he'll survive through the conversation.

Boogara: Great! So let’s continue with the plan

Boogara: and also maybe add some flair here and there with pet names or something

* * *

 

Adam took a deep breath before saving everything he was working on, shutting his computer off, and began walking towards Ryan and Shane’s desks. It was finally time for part two of Ryan’s plan to happen.  It wasn’t even the hardest part of the plan that Ryan had texted him at two am in the morning, but Adam couldn’t help but be anxious. He would be taunting Shane Madej of all people in this part, and even worse it was going to be about him getting a date with Ryan while Shane didn’t.  Shane might actually murder him if he isn’t careful about the way he does it

Adam really doesn’t understand how Ryan couldn’t see that Shane did like him back.

“Ryan, uh, babe are you ready for our date?” Adam asked as he finally reached their desks.

“Huh?” Ryan looked up in confusion before remembering what was happening, “Oh!! Right, I forgot about that for a bit. But yeah, I’m almost ready to head out, just let me take a leak first then we can head out.”

Adam nodded, and moved back, letting Ryan pass to head to the bathrooms. Adam then glanced at Shane, noticing his tense shoulders and how he seemed it just be glaring intently at his computer screen, not typing or doing anything on the actual computer at all.

“Heh,” Adam scoffed, at least he hoped it sounded like a convincing scoff, “I guess you were too late to get him, Shane.”

Adam attempted to stay as neutral as possible as Shane turned around slowly, with a murderous look on his face.

“What did you just say?” Shane asked eyes narrowed as he glared Adam in the eyes.

“I said that you were too late, and lost your chance to get Ryan. Maybe next time you shouldn’t be such a scaredy cat and ask him out. Now you get to watch me be with Ryan, while you sit in the corner forever alone because you were too afraid to ever speak up,” Adam said, praying to all and any gods that Shane wouldn't kill him.

Adam watched as Shane took deep breaths, head down, and felt the tense air around them. He then took a slight step back as Shane drew up to his full height, looming over Adam with a dangerous aura that seemed to surround him.

“Are you really fucking sure about that?” Shane asked quietly, voice dark with contained anger.

Adam took a deep breath before stepping even closer to Shane, eyes slightly narrowed and with a dark grin on his face. Fuck, he really hoped he’d come out of this encounter alive.

“Just look at where we are, I’m the one with a new toy to play with, while you’re stuck in time, too scared to do anything to move forward. You have nothing on me, Shane Madej, while I have the one thing you truly care about.”

Holy fuck did he just do that? Did he really just refer to Ryan as a new toy for himself to play with? Did he really just insult Shane Madej in the face?

By the look Shane is giving him, he’s fairly certain he just did.

“Did you just call Ryan a new toy? Ryan fucking Bergara is a fucking person. A human being who deserves so much and is in no way at all a fucking toy to play with. And may some fucking god help you if you ever touch Ryan, you sick piece of shit. I’m going to fucking tell him what you told me here, you fuck,” Shane growled, grabbing Adam’s lapels and lifting him up slightly.

Adam hid his fear the best he could and was so glad that everyone had left work so that only he and Shane were the only people in the office right now. Even if he might die because of it, he was glad there was no one to hear him taunting Shane with the worst things he could think of. Speaking of that…

“But will he even believe you? Will he really believe that the pure cameraman Adam would ever do something like that? I think not. Plus, you’re just the one he’s friends with, I’m the one he’s dating,” Adam replied, as cockily as he possibly could.

Fuck, he felt sick to his core, acting as this… sick monster of a human being. He felt like he really needs to take a shower and maybe down around 10 very alcoholic drinks, just to get this filth off him.

Shane dropped him to the ground and began to raise his fist.

“Why you little shi-”

“Alright, Adam! I’m ready to go on our da- what the fuck?” Ryan asked, looking at the scene in front of him, with Shane just seconds from punching Adam.

“Ryan, great, you’re done! Shane was just giving me the shovel talk. Let’s head out,” Adam said, quickly scurrying away from Shane and towards Ryan, hoping to not die.

“Oh! Hah, Shane, you didn’t need to do that, it’s just Adam,” Ryan teased, patting Adam on his back.

“Wh- Ryan look we need to talk about-”

“You two can talk later, we wouldn’t want to be late to our reservation. Right, Ryan?” Adam said, hoping that Ryan got the message that they needed to leave, _now._

“Oh, right! Yeah, we should be heading out now, sorry Shane. Let’s talk tomorrow,” Ryan said, glancing at Adam in confusion.

“Let’s go. Bye Shane,” Adam said, pulling Ryan out of the offices.

“Bye Shane!” Ryan called back, as he got pulled along by Adam.

“Wait, Ryan-!” Shane’s voice was cut off by the stairwell door shutting behind them.

Adam dropped Ryan’s arm and began to hop down the stairs.

“We need to leave before Shane comes and kills me, let’s go,” Adam yelled as he continued his way down the stairs. Ryan followed behind him quickly, clearly confused.

“What did you do?!”

“I’ll tell you in the car, let’s just leave now!”

* * *

 

DemonBoy: Andrew, I think Adam is not the good man we thought he was

DemonBoy: because he just fucking called Ryan a “new toy to play with” and was not the man I thought I knew

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Find me on my Tumblr: @worthitboys


	3. Intermission: The Other Boys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Andrew couldn't believe the texts he got from Shane. He couldn't believe the man he'd been crushing on for well over a year now, would ever do such a thing.

Andarude: What? That’s not

Andarude: Adam would never… right?

* * *

 

Andrew stared at his phone in disbelief, re-reading Shane’s message for the tenth time. He couldn't fathom Adam ever doing to that to Ryan or anyone for that matter. Adam wasn’t some piece of shit who only cared about looks, he was a nice guy who always gravitated towards personality over anything. He never went after someone solely based on their looks.

At least... that’s what Andrew thought. But now? He’s not too sure anymore.

Andrew sighed then quickly messaged Shane to meet him at his home, taking time to sit down on his couch as he waited. He had to think through everything clearly, he couldn’t make any rash decisions about this. He didn’t want to accuse Adam of something he wasn’t and he definitely didn’t want to lose him as a friend if Shane was wrong.

“Okay. So Shane says that Adam called Ryan a ‘new toy to play with,’ but how reliable is that really? What if he’s just making it up to put Adam in a negative light because he took Ryan from him?” Andrew thought aloud, opening his memo app to type out everything as he spoke.

“But- no, he would never do that. We’ve been talking to each other for ages about our crushes on them… he would never try to frame Adam. He would only tell me the truth. Shit, but what does that mean then? Is Adam really…” Andrew trailed off, unable to bring himself to say it aloud.

Instead, he buried his head in his hands, before taking a breath and began typing out different possible scenarios that could have led to their current position.

He was so focused on writing, that he jumped when he heard a knock on his door.

“Hey, Andrew, it’s me open up!” he heard Shane call.

“Yeah, I’m getting there!” Andrew replied, jogging over to his front door.

Andrew quickly undid his locks and opened the door, only to be pushed aside by Shane, who quickly shouldered past Andrew to begin pacing in his living room.

“Woah, okay. What happened, man? You’re never like this?” Andrew asked, bewildered at the state Shane was in. Whatever happened at the office must have been really bad. Which scared Andrew, because with text Shane had sent him before… things were not looking good.

“Adam Bianchi is a fucking piece of shit, that’s what fucking happened. I trusted him, the mother fucker, and he went and stabbed me in the back. First, he took Ryan from me and now? Now he comes and tells me about how Ryan is some fucking- some _toy_ for him to play with. That’s- It’s just so fucked up on so many levels? And Ryan wouldn’t even let me talk to him about what just happened! I couldn’t tell him to fucking leave that scum because Adam took him away before I could get anything out!” Shane ranted, his pacing increasing in speed.

Andrew took a small step back as he noticed that Shane’s knuckles were almost white from being clenched so tightly. Then he took a deep breath, registering everything Shane just said.

“I- No. I just… can’t believe that Adam would do something like that? Well, maybe the dating Ryan part yeah, but not? Calling him a- a toy to play with. I’ve known him for years, Shane! He’s never said anything like that in his life,” Andrew said, trying to figure out what could be another explanation for what happened.

“I know you don’t want to believe it, Andrew, but that’s what happened! I couldn’t believe at first either. I’ve known him for almost as long as you have and he then did a complete one-eighty turn on me. He’s not the man we thought we knew, Andrew. And we have to get Ryan away from him. I don’t… I don’t want him to get hurt,” Shane said, trailing off at the end.

Andrew watched as Shane fell still, glaring at the wall in front of him. Andrew took a step forward, about to put a hand on Shane’s shoulder to console him; when Shane quickly turned and punched his couch, hard.

Andrew jumped back, eyes wide in surprise. He stayed still, watching Shane take deep breaths, before speaking.

“Shane? You… should sit down and cool off. We shouldn’t do anything while you're in this state. We need to think clearly and rationally. And we really figure out what to do about… Adam. Even if I really don’t want to believe you, I know you would never lie to me about this. So let me make some tea or some shit, while you just… relax for a bit. Okay?”

Andrew watched as Shane nodded, then quickly realized that his friend was shaking uncontrollably. Quickly, Andrew ran to grab a blanket and set it over Shane’s shoulders and back before he could do anything about it. Then he made his way into his kitchen to make some tea.

He let the water boil, staring into it, as though it could give him some answers.

Because with the way everything was going right now? He really needed some answers before he fell apart.

* * *

 

Cameradam: Did you really just tell the waiter that we were engaged???

Cameradam: RYAN I SAW YOU CHECK YOUR TEXTS YOU CAN’T IGNORE ME

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the nice comments! I really appreciate them and seeing them always makes my day brighter. I hope you enjoyed the newest chapter!  
> \----------  
> Find me on my Tumblr: @worthitboys  
> \----------  
> Looking for a Beta Reader, msg me/send an ask to my Tumblr if you're interested


	4. The Plan: Act 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adam craved death. Or a knife that he could use to gently stab Ryan with. Many times.  
> All he wanted was to get the plan figured out and have a nice dinner with his good friend, but of course that could never fucking happen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to Chi for being the beta reader for this fic and for keeping this from being a plotless mess!

Boogara: LOOK THEY HIT ME WITH THE HOW LONG HAVE WE BEEN TOGETHER QUESTION

Boogara: I PANICKED MAN

* * *

 

Adam wanted to slam his head against the table. Repeatedly. Maybe enough times to kill him and end him of his suffering.

“Ryan whatever your middle name is Bergara. You can’t just panic and tell someone that we’re engaged! We don’t have rings or anything! Not to mention this is our first ‘date’ if you could even call it that,” Adam hissed at Ryan, glancing around to make sure that no one would overhear their conversation. He ran a hand through his hair, then sighed in slight relief when he noticed that no one was near enough to hear them plot and carry out their elaborate ruse.

“I’m sorry! I swear it won’t happen again. Can we just, move on? And, ya know, maybe talk about what happened back at the office? Why did I come out to Shane looking like he was five seconds away from killing you?” Ryan asked, eyes full of concern.

Adam stared at Ryan, noticing the quick subject change before sighing and letting him get away with it. He then drank some of his water, hoping that it would stop his current migraine from getting worse, before answering.

“That would be because he was literally five seconds away from killing me, seeing as I said some very, uh, messed up shit, to say the least.”

Ryan looked at him confused and waved for him to continue. Adam stayed silent for a bit, trying to figure out the best way to phrase what he had said in the office.

“I called you a new toy for me to play with and then straight up insulted Shane.”

Being blunt about it usually worked fine. Right?

“What.”

Judging by the look on Ryan’s face, it did not work fine.

“I acted like the scum of the earth and said you were nothing but a toy to me. Then I went and personally attacked Shane for being a coward,” Adam repeated, hoping the details would get Ryan to stop looking at him like he was insane.

Actually, thinking about what he had done, Adam doesn’t blame him. In fact, he’s starting to think of himself as slightly insane because he just may have fucked himself over in so many ways.

“Adam, What the fuck?! What if Shane goes and tells someone? What do we do then? Hell, what if he tells Andrew! Our entire plan would be fucked over!” Ryan exclaimed in a hushed whisper, trying his best not to disturb any of the other guests at the restaurant.

Adam froze. He didn’t think about that at all. He didn’t think about Shane going and telling Andrew and ruining any chance he has of actually dating Andrew. Adam felt the creeping sensation of an anxiety attack begin to form as his breath began to speed up. He had to think rationally about this and stop the attack before it happened.

Adam took a shaky breath and went over what he knew in his head.

He had prodded Shane towards a more extreme angle than originally intended. The plan was to make Shane jealous, not make him believe that Adam was using Ryan. God, he was a fucking idiot. He knew how close Shane and Andrew have been for the past few months. He knew they were at the point where they shared some secrets of to the other that they wouldn’t dare tell to anyone else, with them claiming that it’d be like stabbing a brother in the back. But no, he had to be the idiot to forget this when it most mattered and go and possibly fuck everything up.

Oh. Now Adam felt his anxiety attack coming on at full force. This was great.

“-am, Adam! Stay here with me, bud. Deep breaths, man. Come on, follow my lead,” Ryan said, finally grabbing Adam’s attention from his impending doom.

Adam watched in a haze as Ryan grabbed Adam’s hand to squeeze it in comfort as he counted out the times for each breath.

It slowly but effectively calmed Adam down and he successfully managed to fight off the attack with Ryan’s help. Relief was immediate, but now Adam felt drained to hell and back. He really didn’t know how he was going to make it through the rest of this.

“Hey, sorry about that. I was overreacting, Adam. I didn’t mean to send you into… you know. I’m sure Shane would never tell Andrew, or anyone, about this until he had more evidence. We’ll be fine. Andrew won’t know anything about this, and then we can get you with him before he ever finds out about this plan,” Ryan said, his voice having a calming tone to it, clearly trying to not make anything worse for Adam.

Adam nodded, pulling away from Ryan’s to wipe the few stray tears that were on his face.

“Yeah, yeah. We’ll be- We’re fine. Let’s just… continue with the plan, Ryan. Get you to start making Andrew jealous and stuff,” Adam said, voice a little shaky but firm.

Ryan gave him a bright smile and then two big thumbs up.

“Yeah! Let’s do th-” Ryan was cut off by the waiter arriving with their food.

After having their plates placed in front of them they looked up at the other.

“Let’s eat, and plan this,” Adam said, hoping the silence while eating would be enough time for him to gather his composure some more. He still needed to make it through the rest of dinner without breaking down.

“Yeah! So I was thinking that maybe we could try and move on with our plan as if the whole Shane thing didn’t happen? We could try and push that off as a one-time thing, and just aim to make Andrew jealous for now. All while avoiding Shane like hell, if possible,” Ryan said.

Adam thought about it for a second, fidgeting with his silverware while doing so.

“Hmm, yeah. We can try? But what if Shane corners me? Or, even worse, Andrew found out and then corners me with Shane, or just straight up tells me to fuck off?” Adam replies.

“We could, uh, shit. I mean, let’s just hope that doesn’t happen? And if it does we can wing it. I won’t let them hurt you, Adam. Also there’s no way in hell that Andrew would tell you to ‘fuck off’ and if he does, I will personally beat his ass for you.” Ryan leaned forward as he spoke, his face the most serious and determined that Adam had ever seen when he talked about his possible scenario with Andrew.

Adam let out a strained chuckle then spoke.

“Right, maybe don’t beat him up? I don’t want him to hate me more then he would at that point, ya know?”

“Fine. But, just know that I will be super passive aggressive with him if he tries any shit.”

“Okay, let’s just. Continue. With the plan and everything.”

“Yeah, okay, so Andrew. What I can do is flirt with him, maybe? So then he can come to you and talk about how I’d be cheating or something, and that can be the starting point for you getting with him. Since I'm great at flirting, ya know, and there’s no way he’d let me flirt without telling you about it.”

“Ryan.”

“Yeah?”

“I literally watched you go up to a dude and ask ‘Did you know there’s a sale in my room? Clothes are 100% off!’ before puking on him then passing out.”

“... Okay so maybe no flirting.”

Adam looked at Ryan, exasperated, then sighed. He knew they’d be here for a while, planning, and eating. So he got as comfortable as he could, taking slow and deep relaxing breaths, and let Ryan continue bouncing off possible ideas for the continuation of the plan.

* * *

 

Cameradam: Our “date” was fun? I guess?

Cameradam: but I still can’t believe you told the waiter we were engaged

 


	5. The Problem

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new day arises and Adam heads into work, hoping that all will be well, only to find out that things are not all that well.

Boogara: okay first off, our date was a fucking blast

Boogara: second, fuck off it was a moment of panic

* * *

Adam read his texts with a sigh, flopping back onto his bed.

He wanted to do anything but head to work today, but he knew that Ryan would come and drag him out of bed if it was necessary. Hell, he probably wouldn’t even drag Adam, Ryan’s strong enough to just pick him up and carry him to work. Which is… kinda hot, when he thinks about it.

Adam laid still as he stared at the ceiling for a few moments before finally rolling off his bed and falling to the ground with a loud thump.

_ What a great way to start the day _ , he thought to himself before pushing himself up and getting ready for work.

Time seemed to soar as Adam got ready, and in no time at all Adam found himself walking into the BuzzFeed offices with his book bag, which contained his personal camera, laptop, and necessary flash drives for work, slung across his shoulder.

“Hey! Adam! How was your date? Did anything spicy happen?” a voice called out from across the room.

Adam recognized the voice as Steven’s and began to quickly walk away from him.

However, he soon felt a pair hands on his shoulders and resigned himself to the fate of having to make shit up about dinner with Ryan to please Steven. Steven, who at this point had turned Adam around to face him and was grinning like a madman.

“Yes, things were very spicy. I stabbed Ryan and left, finally fulfilling my contract with Shane, our resident demon, and gaining all the power I need for world domination,” Adam said, voice flat as he stared into Steven’s eyes.

“Wow! That sure does sound exciting… but not exactly what I had in mind… Any kisses happen? Did any dick touching occur?” Steven asked, a mischievous look appearing on his face.

“No. Stop.”

“What? I’m just asking if some friendly dick touching with your date, nothing more!”

“Please, never say dick touching again. Just- Just refer to it as sex, I beg of you.”

“But dick touching sounds more adventurous and fun!”

“No. It sounds like you're a 9-year-old who has no idea how sex works.”

Adam watched as Steven’s mischievous look turned into a full-blown smile, soon followed by a large laugh that seemed to fill the room with joy. Adam, unable to stop himself, joined in the laughter, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth while doing so.

“Oh man, you’re so right. I’ll refrain from ever using dick touching again,” Steven chuckled, “But, no, really. How’d the date go? As one of your best food buddies, I feel entitled to know.”

Adam shook his head and ran a hand through his hair.

“It- It was alright, I guess. Nothing exciting really happened. But- uh- Ryan did panic and tell the waiter we were engaged instead of on our first date, so that was really amusing…” Adam trailed off, not sure what else he could really say without giving away the fact that it really was not a date.

Steven appeared to light up at the idea of Ryan saying the two were engaged. He quickly put an arm around Adam’s shoulder and brought him close, much to Adam’s despair.

“Ooo, looks like he’s in for the long run, lover boy! I think you just found yourself someone who wants to stay with you as long as he can,” Steven declared, bringing up a hand to Adam’s hair and messing it up even more than it already was.

Adam pushed Steven away from him and grumbled as he attempted to fix his hair.

“He panicked. Nothing more- you know Ryan. He does a lot of wild things when he panics. Mostly screaming, so I guess I got lucky there,” Adam retorted, finally believing his hair to be in a presentable condition.

“Hm, yeah, you kinda got a point there. Then again, usually Shane is also there so you got lucky in that he wasn’t there to egg Ryan on. Also, speaking of Shane…” Steven paused and quickly grabbed Adam’s arm and dragged him into a nearby call room that was empty then quickly closed the door.

“So, okay. I know that you’re dating Ryan now and everything. Well at this point most of the office knows. Anyway uh, Shane is like, super pissed at you. Like, even more pissed than that one time the new intern grabbed Ryan’s ass causing Shane to ‘accidentally’ pour the entire pot of hot coffee over the poor guy. I still feel sorry for that kid… Anyways, Shane won’t say why he’s pissed at you? But, uh, he’s been prowling around your desk area with a really murderous look, so I wouldn’t go there if I were you,” Steven said, dropping his bright smile to stare at Adam with a concerned and serious expression.

Adam felt the blood drain from his face and his heart drop to his stomach as Steven talked. He really did not think his actions through, otherwise, he probably would have done all he could to avoid this situation. He took a shaky breath and then rubbed his face, hastily making a decision before his anxiety could stop him.

“Fuck, okay. So, shit. Uh, Steven? Can I let you in on something? That you have to promise not to tell anyone?” He asked, rocking back and forth on his feet.

“Uh, yeah? Sure? What’s so important that I can’t tell anyone?” Steven asked, head tilted to the side as he stared at Adam.

Adam’s heart stuttered as he stared back at Steven. Maybe he shouldn’t tell Steven about the entire fake relationship. Yeah, that’s a bad idea, Ryan would get super pissed at him too. He just had to quickly find something else to say.

“Well, you- you see… I, uh, I kind of taunted Shane?” 

Well, it’s not a lie and should hopefully get Steven’s attention enough for him to not catch onto the entire fake relationship.

“You- What? Why? That’s probably the dumbest thing you could ever do, you realize that- right?!” Steven exclaimed, looking astonished.

Adam hunched down a bit and took a step back from Steven. His breath caught in his throat, not expecting the statement from Steven to hurt so much.

“Right… Sorry,” Andrew muttered, looking down at his feet. He then felt arms wrap around him and pull himself into a hug.

“I- no. Sorry, that was really harsh. Sorry. I just can’t believe that you would taunt Shane more after he just found out that Ryan was going on a date with you. What did you even say to Shane to get him so upset?” Steven asked, gently rubbing Adams back.

Adam melted into Steven’s chest, then gently wrapped his arms around Steven to return the hug. The room sat still and quiet for a few seconds as he figured out how to phrase what he’d done.

“I- uh, I called Shane a coward. Told him that him being too afraid to make a move would- will- is? Uh, leaving him in the dust as everyone moves ahead towards a new time. Also in the heat of the moment I, kinda, maybe, very obviously insinuated that Ryan was just a toy for me to play with?” Adam spoke quickly into Steven’s chest, hoping that maybe Steven wouldn’t hear what he just said since it would be very muffled.

“Why the fuck would you do that?!”

Or maybe Steven would hear everything perfectly fine. That’d worked too.

“I don’t know? I just… got carried away in the uh, joy of dating Ryan.”

Adam felt Steven stare down at him, appearing to notice his hesitance in stating that he was dating Ryan. Yet, much to Adam’s relief, he didn’t comment on it.

“That… is so wrong on so many levels. You realize that right?” 

Adam nodded slightly, unable to move his head much as he was still hugging Steven. Steven seemed to notice how little Adam could move finally let go of the hug and took a few steps back.

“Okay. Well, shit. We’re going to have a long talk about all this,” Steven paused, waving his hand in a circular motion as he figured out what to say, then continued with, “shit later today, okay?” 

“Okay… After work, you can come to my place and we’ll talk more,” Adam said, fixing his slightly crumpled clothes.

“Okay. Good. But right now- we have Shane wanting to kill you as a problem. What’d we’re going to do, is that you’re going to stay here and work. You have your laptop on you, I assume, so you should be alright for now. I’m going to keep an eye on Shane and text you if he starts to come towards your area, and then you’ll hide. Hell, I’ll just send you regular updates on things around the area, okay?” Steven said, pulling out his phone and typing something in it.

Adam opened his mouth to reply when Steven’s ringtone rang, and he seemed to nod in satisfaction.

“Okay, I got some people helping me out. They don’t know about all the stuff you said about Ryan. They just don’t want to see you die by Shane’s hand- Oh! Oh jeez, sorry just realized you were going to speak, sorry. What were you going to say?” Steven asked, rubbing the back of his neck with guilt.

“I was just going to say okay… I should be good to go with what you say. And if I need anything you can probably go onto my computer and send them to me,” Adam replied.

“Great! I’m going to go and get back to work. Just, be careful man. And also text me before leaving this room, alright?”

Adam nodded and set his bag down on the table that was in the center of the room.

“Uh, thanks, Steven. This… really means a lot to me,” Adam said as Steven opened the door.

“It’s nothing, Adam. Really, I just care about you as one of your best friends! Now take care, bye!” Steven said, closing the door behind him as he left.

Adam smiled to himself and then went and locked the door before sitting down on the couch in the room.

It was finally time to get to work.

* * *

Starry Eyed Steven™: hey, uhh, i know you and ryan are like dating now

Starry Eyed Steven™: so i think it’s probably for the best i tell u this, so like,,, ryan is straight up trying to flirt or uhh seduce andrew? i can’t tell which,,, he’s,,, really bad at it tho

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New Year, new chapter. Sorry for the wait!  
> \----------  
> Thanks once more to Chi for being my Beta Reader!  
> \----------  
> Find me on my Tumblr: @worthitboys

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on my Tumblr: @worthitboys


End file.
